


Princess, Prince, and Blade

by thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey



Series: The Princess and the Blade [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Again, Angst, Gen, Hurt, Keith gets beat up, Very Sorry About That, but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-07-18 21:42:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16127315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey/pseuds/thegalrahobbitofplantetgalilfrey
Summary: Keith's new assignment goes horribly wrong, and is that a sinister plot I see in the distance? Title is a play on Grimm brothers' "Talia, sun and moon





	Princess, Prince, and Blade

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry about the wait. I thought I'd already posted this one.

“Keith!” Allura flew down the transport ship’s ramp and wrapped her arms around her friend.

He coughed awkwardly. “Uh- Princess-”

She pulled off of him, blushing as her father chuckled. “Sorry- sorry- diplomacy- dignity- I know, I know.”

“You didn’t tell me that you knew the Altean Princess.” Allura’s embarrassment deepened as Prince Lotor approached them with a smile, his yellow eyes glowing with amusement.

Keith stiffened, falling into the role of bodyguard that Allura knew so well. “With all due respect, sir, you never asked.”

Allura’s grin faded a bit. “Is Lotor…”

“My new assignment.”

Lotor wrinkled his nose. “You don’t have to sound so disappointed. Although I would prefer assignment to Allura compared to myself as well.”

Allura blushed furiously, but attempted to otherwise keep her composure. By the ancients, this was mortifying. “Greetings, Prince Lotor.”

He inclined his head. “Princess.”

Alfor waved a hand at them. “You three go and get caught up. I’ll check on you later, alright?”

Allura nodded, and strode off, following Lotor with Keith trailing behind the both of them. Once they were behind the doors of the library, all three of them relaxed.

Allura grinned brilliantly at Keith. “You’re a full Blade now!”

He nodded. “Yup. And assigned to protecting our _illustrious_ prince, his supreme majesty, Prince Lotor.”

Lotor made a face. “Ugh. _Never_ say that _ever_ again.” He smiled at Allura. “How was the juneberry festival?”

“Wonderful.”

“She nearly got assassinated,” Keith supplied.

“Unnecessary detail,” Allura said loftily, punching him in the arm, “How’s your shoulder, by the way? And your arm?”

He grinned wolfishly at her. “Maybe you should’ve asked that _before_ you punched me.”

“He passed out on his first day here,” Lotor informed her, “As it turned out, the healers had _not_ released him.”

“Keith!”

“I felt fine!” He glared at Lotor. “You never told me that you knew Allura!”

“With all due respect,” Lotor mimed loftily, “You never asked. Besides, how could I _not_ know her? We’re engaged to be married, after all.”

Keith nearly choked. “What?!”

Allura blushed. “Oh- don’t you hold me to that! Stop laughing! Stop it!”

Lotor just laughed harder. “When- when we first met, she- she asked me to marry her.”

“I was five! I thought that’s what princes and princesses did! Stop laughing!”

“To be fair,” Lotor supplied, wiping a tear away, “Her father _is_ the one who put her up to it. Old traditions of marriage alliances and all that. Not that our fathers would consider such an act for even an instant.”

“My mother might,” Allura suggested, “Speaking of mothers, how is Honerva?”

“Fine. Off researching some planet, planet Earth? It wasn’t discovered that long ago, I believe, and although the natives were suspicious at first, we’ve opened up trade.”

“They weren’t _that_ suspicious,” Keith protested, “My dad _married_ a Galra!”

Lotor rolled his eyes. “One person doesn’t represent a whole race.”

The door was pushed open, and Keith immediately straightened up, back in the role of bodyguard. The Blade who had entered bowed deeply to Allura.

“Princess, I have been assigned to your protection while you are here on Dybazal.”

Allura glanced at Keith. “Oh- I thought…”

Her new bodyguard smiled briefly. “Keith can’t be everywhere at once. He is assigned to Prince Lotor. I assure you, though, I am perfectly capable of protecting you.”

Keith grimaced and nodded. “Hi, Mom.”

She nodded back. “Hey, there. Keep on mission, kiddo.”

“I’m a full Blade member now!”

“But you’re still a cub. _My_ cub, might I add.”

Allura watched Keith bristle with a smile. She had thought that getting another bodyguard would be tedious, but it looked as though this new arrangement would work just fine.

\---------------

“Wow! Look how high we are!” Allura gazed through the glass floor of their transport and nudged Lotor. “Look!”

“I’d prefer not to,” he said faintly, keeping his eyes firmly shut, “Just tell me when this ride is over.”

“I didn’t know that you were afraid of heights! I thought you _loved_ flying!”

“In space, yes. In space, if you crash, the cold, unforgiving vacuum of space finishes you off quickly. If I fall from here, I will spend hours in agony with my broken bones, enduring numerous surgeries before dying anyway.”

“You’re so pessimistic. It’s beautiful!”

“It’s pretty cool,” Keith agreed, looking through the floor, “But I wish that other transport would move along so that we could enjoy it.”

Allura frowned. “There wasn’t supposed to _be_ another transport.” Her ears caught on the slightest ticking noise, and her eyes widened. “It’s gonna blow!”

Krolia instantly grabbed her, swinging out the door and leaping onto the transport deck after first bouncing off of the bomb transport. Lotor followed more cautiously, Keith behind him.

“HURRY,” Allura screamed, “It’s gonna blow!”

Keith glanced at the transport-bomb, then picked Lotor up and threw him to safety.

Allura hopped from one foot to the other in impatience. “JUMP!”

Keith made a run across the transport, leaping for the deck. Krolia herded Allura and Lotor inside.

“Wait, what about Keith?!”

Krolia shook her head. “He’s not my mission,” she said bitterly, “You are.”

The transport exploded, taking half the deck with it. Keith just barely missed the side of the deck, and scrabbled for purchase on the smooth metal. From another transport, four people in black leapt to the deck, approaching the room where Krolia protectively shoved Allura and Lotor behind her.

There was a _thump_ and a shaking. Allura looked down and saw Keith, slicing through one of the supports. It crumbled, and the section of the deck with the black-clad people crumbled. Keith grinned at them, but then slid off of the edge of his perch. One of the figures had grabbed hold of his ankle and was attempting to climb him to get back on the deck. It was all that Keith could do to hold on.

He looked at them, and Allura saw what he was about to do before he did it. “NO!”

He let go, both himself and the would-be assassin tumbling down to the world below, into the frigid, roaring river.

Allura tried to go back out on the deck, but the glass spiderwebbed, and Krolia pulled her back.

“No, Princess.”

“But- but he’s your son!”

Krolia closed her eyes. “Yes. But he was also a Blade. And so am I. And we have a duty.”

Allura stared into the frigid waters. Keith hadn’t come up once.

\----------------

Allura stared numbly at the wall. Keith was gone. They’d dragged the river, but there had been no sign of him, alive or otherwise. A few days later, they’d found his knife on the shore somewhere and they’d given it to Krolia. She’d remained strong, but when she’d thought that Allura was asleep, she’d cried, sobbing her heart out over the knife. It had been heartbreaking, but not nearly as heartbreaking as when she’d called Keith’s father to tell him what had happened. Allura hadn’t bothered hiding her tears.

“Princess?”

Allura looked up at the Blade woman standing in the door. “Yes?”

“Krolia’s on leave. I am your new guard.”

Allura nodded listlessly. Of course. The Blade didn’t care about its members as long as they had enough for their assignments.

\--------------

“Attention, Emperor Zarkon of Dybazal and King Alfor of Altea.” The screen in front of the two leaders lit up. A man in a black mask was standing in view. “A week ago, you saw our attempt on your heirs’ lives. You may have thought that you escaped narrowly, that your Blades can protect you. They can’t.”

The camera panned backwards, and Allura nearly screamed. Behind the man in black was Keith. Chained to a wall and gagged, with a great black eye and covered in cuts and bruises, but alive. He lifted his head, eyes unfocused and dazed. Then they locked onto Allura and he shook his head at her.

“They can’t protect you. They cannot even protect themselves. You aren’t safe.”

Keith worked the gag out of his mouth and shouted something- it sounded like a location- and the camera went away from him. Allura heard a few thumps and a cry of pain and then the camera flipped back. Keith was unconscious, his head sagging to his chest.

“Resistance is futile. Stop all attempts to make an alliance, and we will not harm you.”

The video stopped, and Alfor immediately typed away at the screen, trying to track the signal.

“We have to find him.”

Kolivan nodded. “He knows far too much; if they try to extract information from him…”

Allura barely contained her rage. “And, of course, because he’s a person who needs help!”

Kolivan’s eyes were cold. “I understand how you feel, but your life is not his. Your paths are different. The sooner you accept that, the happier you’ll be.”

\-----------------

“They found him.”

Allura jumped up, seizing her guard’s hands. “They did? Where? Can I see him?”

“Yes. I’ve been given orders to take you there. They’ve seized the hideout.”

Allura grinned, following her guard out to a personal transport. They’d found him! They’d found him and everything would be alright again!

They drove for a long time, Allura brimming with happiness and excitement. They stopped at a cave, and her guard hopped out, offering her a hand. They proceeded into the cave, and Keith looked up from the floor.

“Princess?”

“Keith!”

“Princess! No! Get out! Get out of here! It’s-”

Darkly clad figures moved to cover the cave entrance, and Allura saw that Keith was chained in place. One of the figures patted him on the head, moving his hand quickly before Keith could bite him. “Well done, little Blade. You were _excellent_ bait!”

Keith slumped, and Allura faced the men defiantly. “What do you want with me?”

“You overestimate your importance, Princess. We just want to control your father.” He waved a hand dismissively. “Take them back to the cells.”

When they unchained him, Keith snarled defiantly, ramming his shoulder into the stomach of the man holding Allura. “Run, Princess!”

Allura stumbled away, trying to run for it. She got to the transport, but was quickly recaptured and subdued. She was dragged back into the cave and thrown behind bars with Keith, who caught her.

“Easy, Princess.”

The door slammed shut, and Allura turned to Keith, touching the bruises on his face gently. “What did they _do_ to you?! What happened?! How did you survive?!”

He held up his hands. “Whoa. Whoa. Slow down, Allura. Pick a question.”

“How did you survive?”

He laughed ruefully, running his fingers through his bangs. “I don’t even know. That river was fast, and I don’t remember- I think I hit my head on a rock or something, because I didn’t remember anything until I washed up on the shore.”

“Then what happened?”

“I- I don’t really know. I felt someone dragging me, and I lost my knife, but then… I don’t know. I swallowed a lot of water, and I was pretty banged up and out of it. I woke up chained to a wall, and they started that video.”

“What do they want with us?”

“They kept saying- they kept saying some weird things, things about a ‘gift from the sky’ that was going to bring destruction, but not if they got Alfor out of here, so… I’m pretty sure they’re insane.”

“Sounds fair.”

The leader of their kidnappers rapped on the bars. “Don’t get comfortable, Blade. We need the information that you know.”

“I’m not telling you _anything_!”

“Yeah? And what if we hurt your Princess friend, then?”

Keith lifted his chin defiantly. “You won’t. If you touch one hair on her head, Alfor will blow you to smithereens.”

“He hasn’t found us yet, and I doubt that he will.”

“You’re _dead_.”

The figure took a step back at the ferocity in Keith’s voice. “Well, we’ll see how long your defiance lasts.”

\-----------------

Allura moved to the side as the dark figures threw Keith in their cell, slamming the door. She crawled over to him, gently checking him all over to see the extent of his injuries. He squinted at her through two swollen eyes.

“’llura? You okay?”

“I’m fine, Keith! It’s _you_ they took for torture!”

“Oh- yeah,” he mumbled, “My head- it feels like it’s full of cotton. I can’t- can’t think straight.”

“I turned on the tracker,” she whispered to him, “When I made a run for it. My father will find us soon.”

Keith leaned against the wall with a rasp. “Okay. I can- I can hold on. I can hold on for that.”

\----------------

“Do you know why you must leave this planet and never have contact with it again?”

“Gift from the sky?”

The man in black chuckled mirthlessly. “Gift. It is a curse. It will bring about the destruction of the universe.”

Allura couldn’t contain her curiosity. “What is it?”

He shrugged. “Nobody knows. It’s a mystery. We only know that it’s coming, and when it does, life as we know it will change. And the Alteans have something to do with it.”

“Look, we’ve been forging relationships with Dybazal for _decaphebes_. Even with me as hostage, you won’t be able to destroy that.”

“That’s what you _say_ , Princess, but the love of a father often transcends the logical choice. We know what his answer will be.”

\------------------

Allura pushed herself to the wall as a figure in black unlocked the door. “I’ll scream if you try to touch me,” she warned, “You’re not allowed to touch me.”

“Oh, good, because I didn’t want to.” The figure pulled off his hood, and Allura saw Lotor, shaking his hair and ears free of the mask. Krolia was right behind him. “Come on, Princess.”

“Wait, what about Keith?”

Krolia faltered. “What? Keith- Keith’s alive?!”

“They didn’t tell you?”

“Kolivan just said to rescue you- and that you were- where is he?”

“I don’t know! They took him away!”

Krolia hesitated. “Alright. He’s not my mission, but you know what? Screw my mission. Kolivan is going to eat dirt. Come on.”

She shoved Allura and Lotor down into a transport. “Lie low. I’ll be back soon.”

Soon came with explosions, and Krolia hurrying towards the transport, Keith leaning heavily on her. “Get it fired up!”

Allura revved the engines, taking off with a squeal and shooting out of the cave. Krolia jumped in beside her and took the controls. “Take care of Keith. This is going to get bumpy.”

Allura crawled to the backseat, buckling Keith and herself in, just in time. Krolia put the transport into a tight roll, and they barely avoided laser fire.

“We’re being followed!”

Krolia tossed a gun back to Allura. “Shoot them!”

Allura eyed the gun with distaste, but fired on the transports behind them.

“You’re a terrible shot.”

“Shut up, Lotor!”

They soon pulled out of sight, the transports dropping back as they reached civilization, skidding into Zarkon’s transport bay in front of Kolivan, who didn’t even flinch.

“You need to work on your driving skills.”

Krolia decked him in the face. “YOU LITTLE LIAR! YOU DIDN’T TELL ME THAT MY SON WAS _ALIVE_!”

“It was not necessary information for your mission,” Kolivan said stiffly. He glanced into the back of the transport. “I see that you found him anyway. Report.”

“Yes sir,” Keith croaked. “Transport was a bomb. Destroyed the transport deck, sorry. Got swept away. Lost… lost my blade. Got chained up. Got interrogated. Got rescued. Sorry not more details. Gonna pass out.”

Kolivan nodded to Krolia, and she handed Keith his blade. Kolivan turned to leave. “Don’t lose your blade again.”

“They say that something is coming. Something that can change the universe.”

Kolivan turned back to Keith. “What?”

“The- the people. They called it the gift of the sky.” Keith struggled to get out of the transport, leaning on Krolia. “They said that it had the power to destroy everything we knew.”

Kolivan stared at him in shock for a moment but quickly regained his composure. “You’re going to tell me everything.”

“Yessir.”

Kolivan eyed Keith’s battered state. “First get to the infirmary. Try to stay conscious. Did you tell them anything?”

“No, sir.”

“Good. Dismissed.”

\----------------

Keith winced as the doctor cleaned his cuts, and Allura paced the floor. “I hate Kolivan,” she burst out, “He doesn’t care what happens to you!”

Keith shook his head. “I took a vow- ouch! I made promises. I knew what I was getting into.”

Lotor raised an eyebrow. “Did you really, though?”

“Ow! What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Just that you sometimes jump into situations too fast for your own good.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking abou- OW!” Keith swatted at the doctor, who deftly dodged him.

“Hold still!”

“No! That _stings_!”

“That means it’s working, Blade! Stop moving!”

“Get that away from me!”

“Well, would you rather these cuts get infected so that we have to amputate your limbs?! Hold still!”

Keith settled down, but his face paled when the doctor brought out a needle. “What’s that for?”

“Stitches.”

“I miss Altea,” he grumbled as the doctor numbed the area.

“We need to talk.”

“I thought that we _were_ talking, Lotor.”

“You know, you’re still technically my bodyguard. So no snarky attitude. But we need to talk about this ‘gift of the sky.’ I’ve been looking through the library-”

“Nerd.”

“You know, Keith, I think that you need to sit still and get stitches done, so kindly stop talking and let the good doctor do her work.”

“I don’t need to be quiet to get stitches!”

“You do if I decide it’ll be less work to put you under,” the doctor growled, “Stop moving so much!”

“Anyway,” Lotor continued, “I was looking, and I found a legend- at least, people _think_ that it’s a legend. Oriande.”

Allura snorted. “That old child’s tale?”

Keith frowned. “Oriande?”

Lotor nodded. “Supposedly a place where alchemists would go to receive powers. I think that it may have to do with this ‘gift from the sky.’”

“An old fairy tale,” Allura scoffed, “And not one that I put any stock in.”

“Legends hold some truths,” Lotor argued, “And I think that this one might just be true.


End file.
